Slayers Royale
by SolarFire2
Summary: My own take on the 'Slayers in High School' genre. Violence, non-graphic. How's about some reviews, folks?
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

Authors Note: I pretty much had to write the beginning of the movie verbatim. I felt it was necessary since not a lot of people had seen it, and thus had to be properly introduced to it. So, for most I hope reading the intro isn't a chore.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1.  
  
It was the last of the semester, in celebration the glass had gone on a trip with their teacher to the beach. The bus was merrily abuzz with activity as students talked, laughed, and reminisced about the school year.  
  
It was in the back where a high-spirited young man punched his cohort in the shoulder, eliciting a blink from the target of said violent outburst. He looked somewhat confused that he'd been distracted from the moving scenery of the window.  
  
The punched one lifted a hand to scratch his head, his blue eyes showing their usual charming vacuousness, "Why'd you punch me?"  
  
Zangulus sighed, lowering his head and lifting his hand to pat Gourry on the shoulder, "Cause I'm glad ya dragged me along for this. It sounded lame, but it's pretty cool just getting to hang out with everybody from school. Without the school part."  
  
Gourry grinned, and wordlessly delivered his fist to his cohorts face. Zangulus saw stars as he fell out of his chair and into the aisle of the bus. Leaping to his feet, he almost had steam shooting from his eas as he yelled, "What was that for?!"  
  
Gourry smiled good-naturedly, "Cause you hit me first."  
  
Zalngulus sputtered unintelligibly for a minute before throwing up his hands and sitting back down with a huff. He mumbled something beneath his breath about thickheadedness, but it went unheard amidst all the chatter.  
  
Gourry went back to watching the entertainment of the moving scenery before he was distracted yet again. This time by someone hitting him on top of his head. He was about to give Zangulus a piece of his mind, but turned his head upwards, and saw red.  
  
Specifically he saw red hair and red eyes. Gourry smiled at the sight, while Lina sighed and shook her head, "Gourry, you have to learn your own strength, you lummox."  
  
Gourry, thinking it was rather nice compliment from Lina, grinned, "Thanks."  
  
Lina knew better than to argue, and shook her head, "Don't mention it. Anyways.. Stop staring out the window and talk to us."  
  
Gourry sighed. Talking to the girls always seemed to get him in trouble. He looked sheepishly at Lina, "Uh.. What do you want to talk about?"  
  
Lina glanced upward to look at the person was turned around in her seat to talk to Gurry, and who'd been staring at him for a while, "Sylphiel. I'm sure you have something to say to him."  
  
Sylphiel blushed in that shy manner that so characterized her, "Oh. I just figured that he'd tell us about hitting that winning run in the championship game.. It was amazing."  
  
A third female voice piped in. From beside Sylphiel rose a head of golden hair, "Sylphiel, what moe would you want to know about it? You were sitting at the front row, and you haven't stalked talking about it all week."  
  
Sylphiel possibly turned even more red, "W-well.. I.." She disappeared for a moment. Returning, she pushed a small bag towards Gourry, "Please have these cookies I made you," she blurted out.  
  
Gourry for once lost interest immediately in the window and made a grab for the small bag, beaming at Sylphiel as though she were an angel sent from above, "Thank you!" He held the bag reverently, as though it were a mirage. Unfortunately. He who hesitates is lost. The bag disappeared like a puff of smoke.  
  
Gourry looked for a moment, before he spotted his treasure in the greedy hands of Lina, who was merrily munching on the little treats and looking very satisfied as she did so, "Mm! Thee fur gud!"  
  
Gourry lunged, Lina evaded, and thusly did all hell break loose. Zangulus made a valiant attempt to flee the unpcoming storm, but was dragged in regardless. Fists furiously flew all over a small bag of precious, precious cookies.  
  
Sylphiel gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she watched such violence. Filia rolled her eyes and sat back down in her seat, getting back to the book she'd been reading.  
  
The ruckus continued for a moment longer before someone from the front of the bus streaked in, and commanded in a booming voice, "Stop fighting!"  
  
All activity ceased. Five pairs of eyes hesitantly turned towards the peacekeeper. They were greeted with the familiar sight of a short girl with hair that stuck out at both sides, arms crossed defiantly across her chest.  
  
The fighting ones all nodded, "Yes, class rep." They voiced in unison.  
  
Said class rep then smiled brightly, almost blindingly. Producing a small digital camera, she gestured at the group, "Now get in close, I want to get you all in the frame." Some hesitated, causing her to frown, "Come on now, show some spirit."  
  
Finally they all clumped together and smiled, before being somewhat dazzled by the flash. After taking a moment, they all crowded around the screen to see how it came out.  
  
Lina was the first to let her opinion known, "You cut part of my head off!"  
  
Gourry looked at Lina concernedly, then in confusion as he head seemed to be all there.  
  
"In the picture, dummy."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Lina sighed, but then turned to Amelia and smiled, "Email that to me, okay?'  
  
Amelia nodded, "Of course! I'll send it to you all.'  
  
Gourry zoned out to all the chatter. He went back to watching the window thoughtfully.. And yet.. Something seemed odd. He thought he saw people in uniforms. Oh well. Tunnel coming up. Nothing to see. He yawned, coming to the conclusion it was a good idea to catch up on some sleep.  
  
He had no idea that the rest of his class would have the same idea. Voluntarily or not. 


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: One more to go, and then I can get to the actual story. Hang in there, dear reader.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
  
When the class came to, they were very confused, and for good reason. The first thing they noticed was that they were in a classroom. Not their classroom. The second, it was fairly dark. The third was that they all seemed to be wearing strange metal collars.  
  
Gourry sat up and rubbed his eyes, glancing around where his classmates were slowly coming to. He noted the previous changes, but what struck him as most odd was two young men sitting upon desks in opposite corners in the back of the room. Gourry didn't recognize them. Neither boy seemed to pay much attention to what was going on.  
  
The class had awoken and milled about, chattering confusedly. Zangulus sidled over to Gourry, and Lina dragged Sylphiel and Filia to the two boys. They sat down, and thusly did the chattering begin.  
  
Lina spoke first, as she usually did, "What the hell is going on here?"  
  
Gourry scratched his head inarticulately.  
  
Sylphiel wrung her hands nervously, "I'm worried."  
  
Zangulus merely shrugged.  
  
Filia fidgeted with her collar, "And what are these things? I can't get it off."  
  
There was a dull buzz as students chattered and expressed their worries. The conversations were short lived before a commotion interrupted them. The door to the classroom burst open and a small flood of soldiers marched in all, armed and displaying their weapons prominently. Two pushed in a cart bearing a television and VCR.  
  
But as confusing as that was, the students were even more shocked by the next arrival. They heard it before they saw him. The tap of metal. And inwards walked the principal of their high school. He strode into the room with a purpose, aided by a metal cane as he had a pronounced limp. Perhaps the strangest thing about him, however, was his strange clothing and lavender hair.  
  
Lina blinked, 'Principal Rezo?"  
  
Sylphiel had a slack jaw, "Why?"  
  
The murmuring grew, before Rezo nodded to one of the soldiers.  
  
The soldier stepped foreward, "Sit down!"  
  
Slowly students found chairs, and some sat on the floor, all in their little groups. They spared glances, but for the most part their nervous attention was focused on their principal.  
  
The principal nodded at the class, and spoke in his almost disturbingly soft voice, "Hello class. You all know me, Principal Rezo. I've taken over your class for now, so let's try to get along." He glanced at the back of the class, first we have two new exchange students."  
  
He pointed at the first one, "Greywords." Several students turned to look. He was dressed in an off-white jacket, with a turtleneck that was drawn up to cover his mouth and chin. His hood was up, allowing the students a view of only a few strands of hair similar to their principal's. What was striking though were narrowed, ice blue eyes that stared out with cold hatred at the one in charge.  
  
Without pausing, Rezo moved on to the next, "And Metallium over there." This student smiled briefly. Long purple bangs covered his eyes, but for a moment Lina thought she saw yellow. She shook this off as being ridiculous. This young man was wearing a typical school uniform for boys, colored dark blue.  
  
Rezo continued, "Be sure to make them feel welcome." Turning to the blackboard of the classroom, he picked up a piece of chalk. He wrote briefly, 'B. R. Act' upon the board.  
  
Zangulus stood up, "Where the hell are we?"  
  
Lina joined him, "What's going on?"  
  
And finally Amelia piped in as well, pointing at the soldiers, "What are they here for?"  
  
Rezo turned coolly and tapped his cane against the concrete floor of the classroom before pointing with his free hand to the words he'd written. "Are you familiar with this law?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Rezo shook his head, "That's no good at all." He paced in front of the classroom, "Do you know why this country is in such poor shape?"  
  
Back at the group, Filia leaned over to whisper something to Lina, but was rudely interrupted by a piece of chalk thrown at her.  
  
"No whispering!" Rezo yelled, and yet it was delivered with that same chilling calmness that he had about him, "When your teacher is talking, be quiet and listen."  
  
Another voiced popped up. This time Sylphiels as she raised her hand, "Principal, can I go to the bathroom?"  
  
Rezo sighed, "Can't you hold it?"  
  
Sylphiel was silent.  
  
Rezo continued pacing, glancing about, "I see some familiar faces." He stopped, and looked at Zangulus, "Ah, Zangulus. You know, that's how I got this limp. Wasn't nice at all to do that. I thought that I told you not to come back to school. That you were just a punk. In fact, I still have your knife."  
  
Zangulus made a face in defiance. For it, he received a firm slap upside his head. He blinked confusedly.  
  
Rezo walked onwards, "You see, it's because of children like Zangulus here that this law was passed. " He pointed at the chalkboard, "Battle Royale."  
  
Stunned silence met him.  
  
Rezo smiled before continuing, "So today's lesson is... You kill each other off. Until there is only one left. Nothing is against the rules."  
  
It was Filia who spoke up, raising her hand as she spoke, "Principal. I don't understand. This can't possibly.."  
  
Rezo cut her off, "Now now, all will be explained. We're going to watch a video now. Don't fall asleep." He nodded at one of the soldiers near the VCR, who pressed the 'Play' button dutifully.  
  
What greeted the class was a rather strange sight indeed. What they saw was a particularly cheerful girl wearing a gadily colored shirt, schoolgirl skirt, and a collar similar to theirs. She was also clad in a beaming smile as she spoke, "Hello everyone in class B! You are the lucky students chosen for this year's Battle Royale!"  
  
Rezo smiled at the class, "Aren't you lucky?"  
  
The girl continued, "Now I'm going to explain the rules to you. Listen up and fight with gusto!"  
  
The camera zoomed out to a bluescreen, showing a computer schematic of an island, "You are on a deserted island that looks like this! It's about ten kilometres around, but we evacuated everyone so it's completely empty!"  
  
Someone in the room was mumbling. Rezo paused the tape and stood, reaching back to get another piece of chalk, "I said no talking!" What flew from his hand was not chalk however. There was a glint of metal before a knife seemed to sprout from a student, causing the green haired girl to keel over.  
  
The class all moved away from the scene, some screaming. Rezo walked over to the girl and leaned over her, shaking his head, "Sorry, I suppose it's against the ruled for me to kill anybody." Reaching out, he pulled the knife from the girl.  
  
Whatever control the class had was gone in that moment. There was a stampede for the door, soldiers or not. Commotion, panic. Every man for themselves. This was only broken as the soldiers began firing their rifles into the ceiling. The sound enough to resinstate calm in some as they fled to the back of the room.  
  
Not Zangulus, however. He instead charged Rezo, a scream of rage in his throat as he launched his fist at the mans head. Rezo swept the blow aside easily with his cane. With his other hand, he stabbed the knife he held deeply into Zangulus' leg. Shoving the boy to the back of the room, Rezo smirked, "What goes around comes around, eh Zangulus?"  
  
Zangulus, his leg unable to support himself crumpled to the floor. Gourry yelled in rage, throwing himself at his friends assaulter only to be restrained by several students.  
  
Rezo walked back to the front of the room, waving at the soldiers to regain a more neutral pose. Turning to the class, he spoke, "Back to the video." And the video started anew.  
  
The happy girl continued as the diagram of the island was divided into square sections, "The island has been divided into numerous zones. Every six hours, your principal will broadcast updates about which zones are becoming danger zones. If you're in these zones, you should leave in a hurry. Because the danger is."  
  
She apused, then smiled, "Okay, now about the collars you're wearing. They're totally waterproof, shockproof, and permanent. It monitors your pulse and tells us of your location and movements. So, if you dawdle in a danger zone or cause trouble, we can identify you. Then we can send a signal which will activate and alarm and. Boom! It explodes!"  
  
Naturally all hands in the room went to the metal collars they wore, mutterings and whimperings heard as they considered the thought of such a grim fate. And of course wondering how they could get the damned things off.  
  
"If you try to rip it off, it explodes, too. So try not to do that, okay?" The girl looked with faux sadness out from the TV for a moment.  
  
This was all too much for Zangulus, who stumbled to his feet and approached Rezo once more, "You bastard! You're insane!" He got a good distance before two soldiers grabbed him, pushing his head back.  
  
Rezo sighed as he pointed what looked like a remote control at Zangulus, "I hate to do this." He pressed a button with a frown.  
  
A small red light began blinking on Zangulus' collar, a small beep corresponding with it. Zangulus grabbed at it, the color draining from his face as he spoke weakly, "Wh.. What is this?" The beeping started to grow more rapid.  
  
Rezo smirked, "Better run, students."  
  
Zangulus grew panicked, "What the hell is going on?!" He ran for a group of his fellow students, "Help!" He was pushed back into the center of the room as the students sought to get as far from him as possible. Zangulus spun in a circle, "Somebody help me!!"  
  
Gourry stood stunned as his friend spun about, too afraid to move. He felt like this wasn't happeing, like it was all just a bad dream. Zangulus stopped turning, and their eyes met. Gourry reached out to his friend, "Zangulus!"  
  
Zangulus reached for Gourry, "Gourry!"  
  
There was a flash of light, a loud bang. And Zangulus fell to the floor. There was no sound at all but for the hushed breathing of the students.  
  
Gourry stood, stunned. Hesitantly, he walked with jerky steps toward the body of his best friend. Gourry knelt, lightly placing his palm on Zangulus' back, as though by touching him, his friend would come back to life. However, it was not to be. Gourry leaned over his fallen brother, and wept.  
  
Sylphiel watched in silence, her face drained of all color as she saw Gourry's body wracked with sobs. She wanted to go to him, to comfort him.. But she couldn't. She couldn't move a muscle in her body.  
  
Rezo shook his head, "That's too bad."  
  
Gourry slowly stood. His usual cheery demeanor seeming as though it never existed as he coldly eyed Rezo.  
  
Rezo raised an eyebrow, "What's that look for, Gabriev?"  
  
Gourry got two steps before he was tackled by Lina. Not expecting it, he fell easily and was pinned to the ground, almost embarrassing for him to be overpowered b someone smaller than him. Almost.  
  
Lina hissed down at him, "Save it."  
  
Gourry fought for a moment, but saw the reasoning in Lina's crimson eyes, and relaxed.  
  
Rezo nodded at the soldier at the VCR, and the tape started up once again.  
  
The girl put a hand to her chest, surprised, "Oh, I forgot one important thing. There's a time limit on this game! Three days. If we haven't got a winner after three days, all the collar simultaneously explode, and nobody wins. So fight hard and make sre that doesn't happen, okay?"  
  
The class might have been shocked earlier, but know all they could do was stare in grim fascination and the bubbly girl on the TV screen.  
  
Rezo faced the class, "So, do we have any questions?"  
  
A short young man with short, black hair, named Kijan raised is hand, "If I win.. Do I get to go home?"  
  
Rezo nodded, "Yes. Provided everyone else is dead, of course."  
  
Filia raised her hand, "Why were we chosen?"  
  
"Impartial lottery."  
  
Silence. Rezo nodded, "Just remember that life is a game. So fight with all you've got, and find out if you're worth it." As rezo finished, large doors at the back of the classroom opened up. Large carts were brought in by soldiers, each filled with black duffel bags.  
  
The tape was restarted, and the girl spoke, " You'll leave the room one by one, but first you get a kit! Inside each is food, water, map with compass, flashlight, and weapon. So be sure you check yours out. You can also bring any of your personal effects with you if you want. And about the weapons. Each is different, and they're not just guns and knives! It's random, so you might get lucky, or you might not."  
  
The girl reached into the bad in front of her, and came up with a wood chopping axe. She beamed bright one, "Oh! This one is super lucky!" She stepped away from the bag, "Now you'll be going by class number. So when I call your number, get you bag and go for it!"  
  
The class watched dumbly as the names began to be called.  
  
"Number 1046. Inverse." When Lina was called, she strode proudly to the front of the room with her backpack. Taking a bag, she spared one glance at Gourry and her friends before disappearing down the hallway of the school the classroom was in.  
  
"Number 1237. Saillune." Amelia hesitantly tiptoed to the front. Gingerly taking a bag, she slowly made her way out.  
  
Number 1573. Gabriev." Gourry glanced at Sylphiel before walking to the front and slinging his bag over his shoulder, and marching down the hallway. "Number 1602. Metallium." The boy known as Metallium jogged to the front. Catching the bag tossed at him by a soldier, he sprinted down the hallway and out into the night.  
  
"Number 1726. Lahda." Sylphiel numbly walked out. When her bag was offered, she threw it to the floor and left, bursting into tears on her way out.  
  
"Number 1854. Greywords." Zelgadiss stormed to the front with slow, deliberate steps. His eyes never left Rezo as he took a bag from the pile. Pausing, he knelt down to pick up the bad that Sylphiel had discarged. Turning his back, he jogged down the hallway and into the dark.  
  
"Number 2017. Copt." Filia piked herself up and walked o the front of the room, mutely taking a bag and turning down the hall, a slight air of confidence about her as she walked out.  
  
The names continued, until the classroom was empty but for Rezo, the soldiers, and two bodies. Rezo walked from the room, leaning on his cane as he made his way to the command center, his cane tapping all the way.  
  
The game had begun. 


	3. Chapter Three

Author's Note: Okay, finally we can get to the meat of the story. Here we go.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Lina grumbled to herself as she followed a path through one of jungles the island she was a new inhabitant of. Combined with the fact that she only had the moonlight to guide her, she wasn't making very good progress. She cursed each root she stumbled on and each branch that caught on her clothes and bag.  
  
Finally with a huff she sat down upon the ground in a small clearing. Figuring she was far enough from the starting point, she opened up her bag and rummaged through the contents. She grumbled as she dug through bottles of water, "Weapon, weapon. Ah!" She smiled as she found a small bag. Unwrapping it, her face fell. She held in her hand a small dagger. Disappointing. Everyone else was probably getting neat stuff, and here she was with something barely able to clean her fingernails with.  
  
She was begin to start cursing fate new when she felt something boke her shoulder. She let a shriek and jumped to her feet, slashing blindly. Her assailant moved just in time, and only lost a few strands of hair. Lina held the knife defensively as she narrowed her eyes, "Who?" She blinked, finding herself looking into a pair of familiar, blank eyes.  
  
Gourry smiled, waving at Lina gamely, "Hi Lina! You should be a little more careful with that thing or you might huorph!" The last word came out a little strangled as his stomach became reacquainted with Lina's fist. He fell to his knees, eyes bulding faintly, "Owww."  
  
Lina swatted him on the top of his head for good measure, "Idiot! You scared the hell out of me! How did you get here? Were you following me?"  
  
Gourry nodded, "Yup!"  
  
"Did you see anyone else?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Lina shook her head, "Gourry.. How can you act like that? Don't you realize what's happening?" With a shake of her head, she sat down on the ground.  
  
Gourry sighed and sat down crosslegged in front of Lina, "Of course I do. I just don't know how else to act. Besides, I've been in tight spots before. And the important thing to remember is never panic."  
  
Lina blinked and stared at Gourry wide eyed. Smiling faintly, she reached out and patted Gourry on the shoulder, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Okay, let's take stock. What did you get for a weapon?"  
  
Gourry beamed and produced from his bag an aluminum baseball bat, brandishing it like it was Excalibur.  
  
Lina scratched her head, "You got a baseball bat? That's a bizarre coincidence."  
  
Gourry shook his head, "No, I traded for it."  
  
Lina stared, "What?"  
  
Gourry radiated an aura of self satisfaction so intensely it caused Lina to avert her eyes, "Yeah. At first I had some kind of gun, I think. I didn't know how to use it. The guy with the purple hair and the yellow eyes seemed to think it was pretty neat, so we traded. Good idea, huh?"  
  
Lina's jaw hit the foor, "You had a GUN and you traded it for a BASEBALL BAT?"  
  
"Uh huh!"  
  
"YOU IDIOT!" Lina roared. She then clapped a hand over her mouth and looked around the small clearing in a frenzy, "Gourry. Do you know where he went? Did he follow you here?"  
  
Gourry tilted his head and scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. One could almost hear the gears clicking, "Mm. I. Don't know!"  
  
Lina would have hit him again, but that would waste time. Instead she jumped to her feet and grabbed Gourry by the arm, pulling him to his feet. She pulled him along as she began to walk rapidly on the path she'd been following, "We have to go. Right now."  
  
Gourry stumbled along behind Lina, "H-hey.. Where're we going?"  
  
"Just shut up and come on."  
  
------------  
  
  
  
It was on the rocks near a each that another girl was picking her way across the island. She sighed as she crossed from one rock to another, occasionally stopping to brush her hair from her eyes. She smiled in relief as she say a good stretch of beach stretch out in front of her. At last, some easy walking.  
  
Filia smiled as her aching feet got a rest from the rocks. She admired the soft sand as she walked, liking the feel of it. She did so like the beach. It was a shame this one had to be ruined by such circumstances. It would have been fun to come here woth her friends during better times.  
  
She was snapped out of her thoughts by a very loud bang. Stumbling back, she lost her balance and fell onto the sand with a soft thud. Blinking, she stared ahead of her as her attacker stepped out from behind the boulder they hid behind. She opened her mouth in relief as she recognized the person, "Oh, Critan, it's you.. You scared-"  
  
"Shut up!" The young boy yelled, as he cocked the assault shotgun he pointed at Filia. His green eyes seemed slightly crazed and his brown hair was disheveled.  
  
Filia gasped at the aggressive act, "What..? What's the matter?"  
  
The boy shook his head, looking panicked, "I won't die, do you here me? I won't." He then grinned, "It's nothing personal. But you know. If you die, that's one step closer I am to going home."  
  
Filia simply spoke silently, unable to fathom this. She gulped, "W-wait." Here eyes left the weapon honed on her to look past her classmate. Something was coming, and not slowly.  
  
Critan seemed to catch on to this and slowly turned to see what was happening.  
  
Filia saw a glint of metal. It moved rapidle from being angled at the ground, to being angled at the sky, as though it traveled on a line. She couldn't even blink as she saw Critan fall onto his back, kicking up sand. Slowly her eyes traveled from the body, to the one that had taken the life from it.  
  
Zelgadiss frowned as he pointed the tip of his sword at the girl on the ground, slowly leaning over the fallen body and relieving the boy of his weapon and belt of ammunition. Standing up straight, he put the swrod back in the sheath he wore on his belt.  
  
Filia stared, "You.. Saved me?" She couldn't see anything of her savior but for those chilling eyes that seemed to bore into her. It made her uncomfortable instead of grateful.  
  
"He had a better weapon than I do." He titled his head, "What do you have?" Taking no chances, he pointed the weapon at her, his finger squeezing the trigger lightly.  
  
Filia seemed to shrink, and took her weapon slowly out of her bag, holding it up for inspection.  
  
Zelgadiss rolled his eyes, "An air horn?" He shook his head, shouldering the shotgun, "Keep it." Turning on a heel he presented her with his back as he began walking way. He was rather surprised as he felt himself pulled backwards. Turning, he sneered in annoyance as he prepared to give the girl a piece of his mind, "Look-" he didn't get any farther.  
  
Filia's palm stung faintly from the slap she'd delivered, but she wasn't going to let tat bother her. This jerk had caught her in a damsel in distress moment, but be damned if she was just going to leave her there. Her own blue eyes glared into his own, "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
Zelgadiss was taken aback. He stumbled for a moment before regaining his composure, "I don't know what you're getting at, but forget it."  
  
Filia crossed her hands on her hips and leaned foreword, coming almost nose to nose with this strange boy, "I don't know who you think you are, but you are NOT just going to leave me here!"  
  
Zelgadiss retreated from this breach on his personal space, before once more squaring his shoulders, "Watch me." He turned and started walking. He had to admit he was almost surprised when she made no effort to stop him. And yet. He sighed and turned to find her not three paces behind, "Please stop."  
  
Filia shook her head, "No. I won't just be left alone out here. I don't even have a weapon."  
  
Turning, Zelgadiss pointed the gun at her, "I could just kill you and be rid of another annoyance."  
  
Filia crossed her arms over her chest, and nodded, "Yes you could." She never took her eyes off of Zelgadiss.  
  
Zell sighed, and lowered the weapon, "Alright. Alright, I give up. I surrender." Turning, he headed up he sand, towards the jungle.  
  
Filia followed, curious, "Where are we going?"  
  
"Somewhere we can't be followed. They'll find the footprints."  
  
"They?"  
  
"I have a funny feeling not all of your classmates are as friendly as you are." That was all he could comment on.  
  
"Hey, I have one more question."  
  
Zelgadiss sighed, "What is it?"  
  
"What's your first name?"  
  
He paused, and then nodded faintly, "Zelgadiss."  
  
Filia smiled, "Well it's nice to meet you, Zelgadiss Greywords. My name is Filia Copt."  
  
Zelgadiss grunted an acknowledgement, and into the jungle they went.  
  
-----------------  
  
Amelia hummed an upbeat tune to herself as she set about straightening things up in the small shack she'd found. It must have been an abandoned home, from what she gathered. Well, no electricity, but she did find an oil lantern. She used that to guide her as she busied herself preparing her shelter.  
  
Naturally she was rather surprised as she heard a knock at the door. Gulping down a wad of fear, she approached the door hesitantly, armed with a chair leg she'd found. It was far more useful than the steering wheel she'd been given as a 'weapon.'  
  
She squinted, "Who's there? I.. I have a gun, you know."  
  
A friendly, though unfamiliar voice returned the query, "I got kinda lost, and I'm just glad to find someone. Can you open the door please? I lost my weapon."  
  
Amelia cracked the door open and peeked out. The sight that greeted her was purple hair, and a friendly smile. The boy also had both hands in the air, empty. Seeing as it wouldn't be nice to leave them out there, she opened the door, "Okay, come in."  
  
Xelloss bowed as he came through the doorway, "Oh, thank you. I was so worried that someone was going to ambush me. I heard gunfire, so I ran.."  
  
Amelia frowned as she shut the door, "It's so terrible.. I don't know what we'll do. I don't want to hurt anyone. And I'm worried about my friends."  
  
Xelloss nodded sympathetically.  
  
Amelia frowned, "Some class rep I am. My class is out there doing who-knows- what, and I ran and hid somewhere." She sighed and sat down on one of the intact chairs, placing her head in her hands.  
  
Xelloss walked over and softly patted her shoulder, a small sympathetic frown on his face, 'There there.. It's not your fault. It's not like this doesn't count of an extenuating circumstance."  
  
Amelia looked up and smiled hesitantly, "Yes.. That's true, isn't it? I'm sorry, I just didn't know what to do."  
  
"One step at a time. One step at a time. It's all you can do."  
  
Amelia smiled, "I'm sorry.. Here I've been talking on and on and I didn't even get your name. I'm Amelia Saillune."  
  
Xelloss leaned over and took one of Amelia's hands, kissing her fingers lightly, "Xelloss Metallium. At your service."  
  
Amelia giggled at that, and blushed, "Ah.. I. Oh."  
  
Xelloss smiled as he leaned over Amelia, his yellow eyes gleaming, "Well Amelia.. I think we'll get along just fine."  
  
Amelia smiled, greatful that this stranger was so kindhearted. 


End file.
